


take my hand (we'll dive into the sea)

by CaseNumber825



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-07 10:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14669166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaseNumber825/pseuds/CaseNumber825
Summary: 'Your world is so small, and there is so much you have yet to discover'When a disastrous research trip has Newt longing for home, can he find something in the ocean that can convince him to stay? And will there be adventures or horrors, or both, awaiting him beneath the water's surface?





	1. flounder in your waters

The waves of the Atlantic Ocean lapped peacefully against the shoreline, a briny breeze ghosting against Newt Geiszler’s face as he inhaled deeply, the feeling of home enveloping him with each breath. Florida was hot, and stuffy, and Newt knew that a leather jacket probably wasn’t appropriate attire for the weather but everything else about this six-month research post had been a colossal disaster so far, so why not add physical discomfort to the mix.

He’d already been berated by three senior academics for how he chose to present himself, had found out that half of his research money had been lost _‘somewhere’_ and he would have to recoup the losses via expense claims, and had been put up in some shit-hole apartment at least half an hours walk away from the University because of a mix-up that would _‘soon be rectified I’m sure’._ He was almost ready to just call the whole thing off and finish his research back home at the Max Planck Institute, but no, he had to persevere. There was no way he could successfully study the significant differences in marine life within the Atlantic Ocean if he couldn’t physically get to any other part of the Atlantic Ocean than the North Sea. That he was having to repeat his official research proposal and subsequent visitation request to convince himself was probably a bad sign though.

At least he had this though. This sense of calm and tranquillity that never failed to calm the whirlwind of worries in his mind. It reminded him of days spent with his dad and uncle as a teenager in a fishing boat in the North Sea. Before he could travel too deeply into reminiscent territories, he caught sight of a small ripple followed by a splash and what briefly looked like a medium to large sized tail fin.

Medium to large though? Large sea-life didn’t usually swim this close to the shoreline unless injured. Most were clever enough to know that humans couldn’t be trusted. Newt could respect that, could even relate to that somewhat. It was partly the reason he had chosen marine life as his specialist subject. Well, that, and it was easier to get to the ocean than it was to get to space.

Another unnatural ripple just below the inky surface of the water, only about 50 metres from the shoreline and inching ever closer, had Newt ditching his initial confusion and putting his ‘marine biologist’ head back on. This could, after all, be a sea creature in trouble and he just wouldn’t be Newton Geiszler if he let it die when he had the power to help.

He’d just turned to see if he could spot a ‘free’ fishing boat that always seemed to be parked up on the shorefront when he heard a rustle that sounded suspiciously close behind him. Upon turning back round he couldn’t see anything,

“Hello?” He called, willing his voice to sound a bit braver than he actually felt. He hadn’t heard of many murders occurring along this particular shoreline, but there was always a possibility, “Is anyone out there? Look, if you wanna be skinny dipping in the middle of the night that’s on you, some of us just want to be walking, you know?” Ah, yes, common sense thy name is Geiszler, “I bet it’s nicer in there though isn’t it” Sometimes he cursed his own lack of brain-to-mouth filter and inability to shut up when there was a very real chance of murder.

It was silent again. Eerily silent. So silent that he was about to just turn tail and run, when all of a sudden he caught sight of a flash of something pale behind a nearby rock jutting out of the ocean, it was just a milliseconds worth of movement, but it was enough to pique Newt’s interest. The aforementioned rock was only 10 metres out and easy to wade to. So with that thought in mind, and careful to not take his eyes off the rock just in case he missed any more movement, he slowly removed his boots and socks and began his journey.

Half way there and still no sign of anymore movement and Newt was beginning to wonder if it was just a figment of his imagination when he saw it. A face peering from behind the rock, hidden up to the chin under the water,

“Hey, man, what’re you doing out here?” He panted as he dragged his legs through the water, gripping on to the rock when he finally reached it, “Probably not a great idea to be going for a paddle on your own, I gotta say”

He got a tilt of the head as a response, at least he thought that’s what it was, the person was still shrouded in shadow, weirdly still under the water’s surface, “You’re not stuck are you? You’ve not gone and busted your leg on a rock or something?” Still no real response, “Look, sorry about accusing you of skinny dipping earlier… you’re not are you?” Nothing, “Whatever, doesn’t matter really, but if you want help I can get you back to the shore and call someone? Friends, family, hospital, you know whatever?”

He could make out some rapid blinking from the person in front of him, and then something brushed against his leg and quickly retreated. Brushing it off to focus again, he caught sight of the person attempting to move in the opposite direction and without thinking he grabbed hold of their arm and pulled them back towards the less-shadowed side of the rock,

“Wait, no, you need-” And the rest of what his ‘rescuee’ needed died on his tongue as he finally got a look at the ‘persons’ features, or to more precise, he zeroed in on the pointed fin-like versions of ears on the side of the head, then looking down he noticed that the arm he’d grabbed onto had similar fins dancing up from the wrist to the elbow. He quickly released the arm, eyes wide and a bit panicked as he stumbled backwards. Then his last coherent thought was ‘Oh yeah, moving in water isn’t easy’ as he felt himself falling backwards towards the rock that had been so interesting beforehand.

***

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out of it, but the next thing he knew he could feel soft sand underneath him and waves lapping at his bare feet. Blinking the blurriness from his eyes, he could see the face from before above him, a surprisingly soft finger running down one ear, apparently so immersed in memorising its shape that the creature hadn’t noticed him waking up.

He almost wanted to stay still and silent and let the other study him, it was an interesting feeling, being on the other side of ‘research’, however all of his nerve endings came to life at once and he was hit with the mother of all migraines and just couldn’t hold back the groan of pain that escaped him.

The hand drew back instantly, webbed fingers curling into the palm and face now turned to look at him. Newt almost forgot the pain he could feel now that he could get a good look at the feature that had so startled him before. What he’d thought was just pale skin was in fact shades of blue, green and iridescent scales running around the outer perimeter of the face and neck, fading into incredibly pale skin in the centre and covering the expanse of the chest, the same scales covered most of the hands and the ears and Newt had to wonder if the creature had more matching scales elsewhere, the eyes were larger than the average person, but didn’t look that different in general, and there was a patch of normal-looking, if shoddily styled, dark hair atop the head.

“Who are you?” He couldn’t help but ask, even with his speech slightly slurred and stilted.

The creature raised an eyebrow _(‘normal eyebrows and eyelashes as well’ Newt’s brain helpfully noted)_ and tilted their head in that same manner as before, and then the next action came as a surprise to him,

“You’re heavier than you appear, and significantly denser than I had first assumed, to come wandering in to dark waters by yourself,” Newt certainly wasn’t expecting a decidedly male sounding, overly posh British accent to come from the mouth of the creature in front of him, and Newt was about to protest the accusations before a small smile appear on those thin lips, “But you are interesting, and very pleasing to the eye. I would so hate to see anything bad happen to you.” Those same lips twisted slightly and suddenly a small vial appeared in front of his face, procured from a bag that Newt hadn’t noticed before now, “Please, take this,”

Not that he had much choice with the vial pressed to his lips and he only just remembered to relax his throat to allow the surprisingly sweet tasting liquid to flow down. Another smile graced the creature’s mouth, so at least Newt had something pleasant to look at if he had just had poison forced down his throat.

“That should allow you feel well enough to go to one of your healing centres,” The creature announced, “Please do so, as soon as possible”

Then he felt a pair of cold lips press lightly against his forehead before the creature backed its way back in to the water.  Newt scrambled up to a crawling position quickly, ignoring the now dissipating throbbing in his head, “Wait” He called, almost desperately.

The creature stopped its retreat, and turned to him questioningly.

“I don’t even know your name?”

That small frown appeared again and Newt was worried that he wasn’t supposed to ask.

“I-” The creature started, then paused, “My name isn’t pronounceable in your given language”

Newt deflated a little, “Oh,” He sighed, then perked up slightly, “Well, can I give you a nickname?”

“A what?”

“Like, something that I can refer to you as” Not really an accurate explanation, but it was easier, he decided as he got to his feet and made his way into the shallows of the water, until he was within touching distance where he got back down to his knees,

“Why would you want to?”

He was being eyed warily now and so he gave a small shrug, “I don’t know really” He answered lamely, “I’d like to see you again though?”

The creature looked down, worrying its lips between its teeth. There was silence for a long while and now Newt was truly worried that he’d pushed a bit too much. A quick glance out to the far ocean, and then back to Newt, and then with a small gulp and a slight movement closer, scaled hands gripped his own suddenly and a decision seemed to have been made, “Two nights. Give me two nights and then I will come back here, at this same time” One hand released his to point away, “At that same rock, yes?”

Newt nodded eagerly, “Of course, yes, definitely”

He received a wide smile in return and an extra squeeze to the hand, before the creature was gone in a flash, leaving Newt somewhat dumbstruck and awed, with just a couple of thoughts going through his head,

 _‘Did I just get insulted, then flirted with, by a merman?’_ followed by, _‘Did I just ask a merman for a date?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Semi-written for MerMay, though also just because this fandom needs more Merman!AU
> 
> Also, will contain probably 'inspired by' scenes from The Little Mermaid, but it's certainly not a rewrite of either that original tale or the Disney film.
> 
> Titles comes from the song [Mermaid](https://youtu.be/j3fJAeNXloU) by Skott (which incidentally is the song I listened to about 100 times before I wrote this)


	2. until the next turn of the tide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which multiple questions are asked, most are answered, more plans are made and Newt's new friend is given a name.

2 hours later and slumped in the hard ‘cushioned’ waiting room chairs, Newt tried to figure out whether or not he’d just had a very vivid fever dream brought on by stress and that knock to the head. He couldn’t possibly have seen what he thought he’d seen. Could he?

Oceanographers and marine biologists, past and present, had scoured nearly every body of water on Earth and documented nearly every form of life they encountered, surely someone somewhere at some time would have encountered at least one mermaid, or merman… mer-person? Newt wasn’t even certain. Would they even ascribe to the same gender-rules that most humans conformed to? Probably not if he thought about it. The creature he’d met seemed masculine, but maybe they all looked and sounded like that?

And maybe he was also getting ahead of himself. This might still be, after all, an elaborate fever dream. He might yet have a serious head injury and where exactly had Tendo gone off to in the search for the missing doctor? He had one friend in this godforsaken country and even he’d abandoned him in his time of need.

He slumped further in to his chair and pouted, well aware that he probably looked like a sulking child. He had every right to though, whatever funky medicine his water friend had given him had worn off an hour ago and now his head was throbbing to the point where he was seriously debating asking the probably very exhausted on-duty nurse for a shot of morphine, or to just knock him right out if that would make her feel better.

Moments later and suddenly Tendo Choi arrived in all of his wonderful glory, and with a doctor in tow as well, even better! Newt would have worked up the energy to smile but he was fairly certain that it would turn in to more of a grimace, and Tendo didn’t deserve that. Tendo was currently a literal angel descended from heaven –

“How’re you doing my brother?!” Okay, scratch that, Tendo was evil and loud and deserved whatever horrible grimace Newt’s face had contorted itself in to. “Oh, shit, sorry. Forgot, you know?”

“Tendo, please, shut up” Newt ground out, delighted when the doctor instructed him to follow her to an examination room and sit in one of the much softer, far more cushioned, patient chairs.

“Now, Dr Geiszler, I’m try to be as quick as I can,” She assured, “Initial signs look good. You’re awake, alert and responded normally to questions so do you mind if I ask a few questions?” Newt nodded, slowly and carefully, “Excellent, can you just give me a brief overview of what happened as far as you can remember it?”

“Well basically, I was in the water and I fell, and hit the back of my head on a rock” Brief and to the point, perfect, no need to anything else.

“And what were you doing in the water, this late at night I mean?” Okay, maybe less brief would have been better.

“Just kind of wanted to clear my head. I’m on a research trip from Germany, you see, and with the pressure of the travelling and settling and everything,” He shrugged loosely, “It seemed like a good idea at the time”

The Doctor peered over her glasses, then nodded once and opened her desk drawer to retrieve a pair of medical gloves before instructing him to tilt his head forward slightly so she could examine the injury sight. A few flinches and gasps of pain later, she allowed him back to an upright position,

“Well, luckily there’s no open wound, so infection seems unlikely at this point. You have a fair amount of bruising and minor swelling at the point of impact. I can give you some topical cream for that if you’d like?” Newt nodded in confirmation and watched as the doctor typed out the medication instructions on her computer. “Now then, we’ll check your vitals and light responses and if everything checks out you can be on your way. I have to say you’ve been extremely lucky, most people receiving a head injury in deep waters don’t tend to get off with minor swelling and bruising, the sea isn’t usually kind enough to deposit you safely on the beach” She chuckled lightly at her joke and Newt hoped she’d just put it down his lack of amusement down to the headache.

Ten minutes after Newt had left the office and collection his prescription, he and Tendo were finally allowed to make the leisurely drive back to Newt’s crappy rented apartment. The journey was mostly silent, the too-low-to-make-out-lyrics radio droned in the background, for Newt was entirely grateful, and the atmosphere veered on the edge between comfortable and awkward.

Tendo knew. In that weirdly instinctive way that had Tendo knowing everything about everyone, Tendo knew that Newt was hiding something. Newt could sense it in the way that the engineer’s eyes kept darting over to him. Sure, some people would just assume that he was just being concerned for his recently injured friend, but Newt knew better. He knew that as soon as they stepped through the apartment doors, he’d be in for an interrogation.

And he was right.

“So, you wanna tell me what you were really doing in the middle of the ocean at midnight?” He said as soon as the lights had flickered on.

“I told you before we got to the hospital, the pressure just got to me,” Newt sighed, dumping his coat on the closest chair and making his way into the kitchen for a glass of water, “The water calms me down, you know that. You want anything?”

Tendo declined, “Yeah, sure, and I’m a world famous lingerie model.” He muttered, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. He allowed Newt the courtesy of taking a seat of the worn couch before continuing his line of questioning, “Look, man, you’re Newt Geiszler. You know the ocean better than almost anybody else, I can’t imagine you just slipping and falling on to a random rock”

Newt couldn’t even argue with that. Not that he didn’t spend a good minute or so trying to think up a reasonable counterargument, but with the throbbing in his head and the whirlwind of thoughts that already occupied his mind, he ended up just sighed and massaging his temples, “Tendo, dude, I appreciate everything, you know I do, but I just need to sleep now.” Tendo frowned, clearly wanting to persist some more but not wanting to cause his friend any more discomfort. Then, as though a lightbulb had gone off in his head, Newt continued with, “Just give me a few days to sort my head out, then I’ll tell you everything, okay?” That would give him enough time to meet his oceanic friend again, ask if he was allowed to tell just one more person about the apparent existence of humanoid oceanic creatures and if so then perfect! And if not, well at least it would give him a few more days to come up with a more believable story.

Tendo glared at him slightly for a few beats, then dropped his shoulders, “Fine,” he sighed before raising his finger at Newt pointedly, “But, I’m telling you right now, you better not be ready to tell me some bullshit fake story. I know when you’re lying, you’re godawful at it”

Newt swallowed, the nodded with as much conviction as possible and replied with, “Would I ever lie to you, Tendo, my best buddy?”

Finally the engineer cracked a smile and shook his head in amusement, “I’ve known you a month and we’re already best buddies, how good am I?” He chuckled, and then in a flash returned to ‘Florence Nightingale’ mode and began to usher Newt down the hall into his bedroom, fluffing the pillows to optimum softness, putting his water within easy reach, blacking out the curtains and checking that he didn’t want any more drugs before going to sleep.

***

It was almost amazing just how long 48 hours could feel when you were waiting for something. On the plus side it gave Newt plenty of time to do as much research in the history and mythology of merfolk, but on the downside of that Newt couldn’t be certain what could be fact and what was definitely fiction, having only met his ‘mer-person’ briefly and having not had chance to ask any real questions.

In fact, all he’d ended up doing with all of his research was give himself more questions that needed answering. For example, if merfolk were in fact real, were selkies also real? What about sirens? Or were merfolk and sirens the same thing? Do merfolk really lead unsuspecting sailors to their death? Which is turn made him wonder if he was actually in danger, going to meet this creature that he really knew nothing about in the middle of the night, next to said creature element. But then, would he be dead already, if that was indeed the creature’s intention?

Besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t know anything about the ocean. He’d explored it and researched it and written multiple theses about it and built his entire career around it. Sometimes he felt as though he’d rather be in the water than anywhere else.

And so it went on, even as he walked the now familiar path to the shoreline, debating in his head about the pros and cons and potential dangers that awaited him on this very night. And then, when he finally reach the point where water met sand, he realised he’d not actually come up with a nickname for his new friend. He glanced down at his watch. He was an hour early, assuming the intention was to meet at the same time they’d parted ways two nights ago. That was enough time to come up with something he decided, as he found himself a tidy little alcove in the nearby rock groin.

An hour passed, then another 15 minutes passed and Newt checked his watch against his phone a few times to make sure they matched, then another 5 minutes passed and he was starting to feel like he’d been stood up. Which was ridiculous, because this wasn’t a date. He wasn’t actually having a date with a half-fish creature that he’d met two days ago. He wasn’t. So, with a huff, he set his watch for another ten minutes and leant back against the rock and allowed his eyelids to close of their own volition.

“Do human’s like to sleep against sharp rocks? Or is that just you?”

With a jolt, and a sharp crack to the side of the head resulting in a pained hiss, Newt’s eyes flew open and his hand flew to palm the area of pain,

“Shit, am I always going to end up with head trauma when I see you?” He cursed, rubbing the spot and upon satisfying himself that there was no open wound there, he caught sight of his oceanic friend, arms resting atop one of the protruding rocks, presumably in order to keep his head above water,

“Well, perhaps you should avoid being near rocks in the future, if you are predisposed to hurting yourself with them?”

Newt wasn’t sure if he’d just been sarcastically insulted, or if the other was just interested in his well-being, but he was currently distracted by the sight of arms that were out of the water. They were scaled, much like the face, from the fingertips up to the elbow joint, the finger webbing he’d noted previously, but the almost iridescent-green fin, that he’d grabbed hold of two nights ago before bashing his head upside a rock, that ran up the side of the lower arm was a lot more elegant-looking than he’d previously thought,

“Why are you staring at me?”

Newt snapped back to attention, the glare on the other’s face alarming him somewhat,

“Sorry, I just-” He faltered slight, cursing his tendency to stumble his words, “It’s just, I’ve never seen anything like you.” The gestured with his hands in the creature’s general direction, “You’re incredible.” He settled, hoping his predicament would be understood.

He wasn’t expected the glare to intensify, “If you’re just going to insult me, I’m going to leave”

Newt’s eyes widened considerably, “What? Wait, no, what did I say?” He scrambled up from his position on the rock and splashed into the shallow depths where the other was positioned, “Is incredible, like, not a good word where you’re from? Cause I meant it as a compliment!”

“It’s not nice to lie.” The tone was sharp, “Is that not taught ‘where you’re from’?”

Oh. Okay. Ouch, but also what? “Sorry, you’re gonna have to explain?”

“I already know I’m not exactly a prime candidate for the Siren Program, much to my father’s dismay, but you don’t have to mock me for my exceptional awkwardness”

It looked for a moment as though Newt was going to be left on his own again as webbed fingers splayed against coarse rock, “Wait, please,” Newt near-on pleaded, now close enough in the water to rest a hand on one shoulder, to which dark eyes darted to the point of contact and he quickly removed the hand, unsure whether it was welcome or not. There was no more signs of retreat though, so Newt pressed on, “Can I just explain, that, you know, to me… you’re, like, super incredible. Like, I’ve never seen anything even close to how amazing you are. So, you gotta believe me that I’m not mocking you”

The look he received in return spoke volumes of uncertainty, with an underlying hint of a hesitant sort of trust, “There are plenty like me, and others that are far superior”

Newt shrugged and made a show of looking around the vast open ocean, “Well, I don’t see any of them making casual conversation with me, so that makes you pretty special in my book”

A ghost of a smile appeared, and Newt couldn’t be sure, but he thought he spotted a hint of a blush. If merfolk even could blush. Which reminded him…

“Could you answer something that’s been bugging me for the past couple days?” A nod of confirmation “What do your kind call yourselves? Like, on land we’re humans, so do you have a collective name?” He recalled a mention of ‘Sirens’ that suggested a borrowing of terms.

“Much like my name, as you asked previously, much of my language would be unpronounceable for your tongue, including the word for our kind” Newt frowned slightly, then wondered if he might ever be allowed to hear this mysterious language. A question for another day perhaps as the other hadn’t finished speaking, “However, humans have given us a name in your various languages, have you not?”

“You mean, like, mermaid?” Another nod and now Newt had another dilemma, “So, generally when we say ‘mermaid’ we tend to mean…” He trailed off, uncertain how to approach the topic,

“Females, yes, I’m aware”

“So, not ‘mermaid’ collectively then.” Newt clarified, “I’ve been referring to your kind, on the whole you know, as ‘merfolk’ in my head for the last couple of days.”

The other nodded, “Yes, I believe I’ve heard that term before. It works.”

“And, not to be rude or anything, but are you a mermaid? Just, I don’t really want to assume but I’ve sort of been under the impression that you’re not,” The somewhat amused confirmation of Newt’s assumption had him letting out a quiet ‘whoop’ of excitement, “Yes! My nickname is so much better now!” At the, now sudden, look of confusion, Newt realised he should probably explain, “Ah, yes, well, seeing as I can’t pronounce your given name, I’ve decided to nickname you Hermann” He announced proudly.

The look of confusion didn’t leave, “And, why is that better now?” The, newly dubbed, Hermann queried,

“Well, now that I know you’re male, and here on land we call the males of your kind ‘mermen’…” He trailed off, letting the silence permeate for a few seconds until he couldn’t take it anymore, “So you’re Hermann the merman!” A few more seconds passed in silence and Newt’s excitement dropped at the lack of response and furrowed brow on the other’s face, “Don’t you like it? Sorry, I-I can change it if you-”

Dark eyes locked on to his quickly, “No, no I like it!” He was quickly reassured, “I like it a lot actually. It is… Germanic? In origin yes?”

It was Newt’s turn to look confused now, “Er, yeah, my family come from Germany. I picked it ‘cause I like things that remind me of home, and I like you, so now you can remind me of home. Kind of…”He trailed off again. He seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. And then he thought of something, “Wait, how did you know that?”

The light smile that had lit up Hermann’s face when Newt had given the name, dropped slightly, “It was a number of years ago, truth be told, I had gone on an… exploration, I suppose, trip to that area with a group of…” A pause during which he looked to be struggling with his words, “I think ‘Scientists’ might be the closest description that you might recognise…”

“No way!” Newt exclaimed, “You’re a merman scientist! That is so cool!” Newt’s exuberance dimmed slightly at Hermann’s bewildered look, “Sorry, sorry, carry on”

The merman looked him up and down for a few beats, “Sort of. I used to do a lot of research in to the human world above. Such as your customs, your history, your languages, you humans lose a lot to the waters don’t you? It’s what the trip was for, just a part of the ocean my group hadn’t yet visited.”

Newt nodded, head spinning with so many questions that he barely knew where to begin. Although, one thing was begging to be asked, “You’re using the past tense a lot. Why aren’t you continuing with your research?”

The question seemed to have cause Hermann a degree of discomfort, fingers subconsciously tracing the patterns in the rock as he drew his gaze away from Newt to the open ocean, “Father has… forbidden it” He breathed, as though the memory of it was a painful one.

“Your father? But what-”

 “Please,” Herman interrupted, “Could we, perhaps, talk of other things? I can’t stay here for too long and I’d rather not sully things by dragging up bad memories”

Newt acquiesced, though questions about Hermann’s father and what authority he held to be forbidding things like research danced on the tip of his tongue, he still learnt a lot about the life of merfolk under the sea, how their society was constructed, how their knowledge was gathered and how technologies were created. In turn, Hermann asked questions about things that Newt found mundane, like what people used fire for, could all humans write with pen and paper, or were a select few trained in the skill, and just what were those brightly coloured pictures that ran up Newt’s arm.

They spent over an hour out there, Newt perched on the rock out of the water while Hermann leant against it, learning about the other’s species, until Newt realised he could just about make out the sunrise over the horizon,

“Hey, would you look at that?” He said, “We’ve spent all night here”

He wasn’t expecting the half panicked look, and then he realised that Hermann was looking up and down the shoreline frantically. Of course.

“Shit, sorry!” He placed his hands on Hermann’s shoulders, “Don’t worry, there’s no one here yet. Hardly anyone comes to this part of the beach”

Hermann nodded distractedly, “I must go though, I’ve been here much too long”

Much as Newt would have liked to sit out there for hours more, he understood that Hermann probably had other things to do and other commitments that required his attention, “Of course, yeah, no I understand. We can do this again though, right?”

The merman smiled widely and nodded in returned, “Yes, of course,” He placed his own hands atop Newt wrists, “It’s come to my attention though, you have provided me with a ‘nickname’, but I’m without anything to call you”

Newt could have smacked his own forehead at his stupidity if he wasn’t enjoying the feeling of those weirdly smooth hands on his bare skin. So, instead, he smiled warmly, “It’s Newt. Or Dr Newton Geiszler, professionally.”

“So Newt is…”

“Newt is the nickname, yeah”

“Newt.” He tried, then seemed dissatisfied, “Dr Newton Geiszler.” But apparently that still wasn’t right, “Newton.” Finally, a smile. “Yes, I like that one. Newton.”

His enthusiasm for something as simple as Newt’s birth name was infectious, and Newt couldn’t help the wide grin that spread out over his face.

“Seven days. One human week.” Hermann declared, “I’m afraid I can’t meet you again any sooner than that”

He was disappointed, of course he was. What was he supposed to do for a full week? Other than once more drowning himself in books and articles about mythology to find out what else human’s had got wrong about merfolk.

Not that he was going to refuse though, “Sure, same time, same place?”

Hermann nodded and smiled for a moment. Then, out of blue, he pushed himself further out of the water to lean up and place a gentle kiss on to Newt’s cheek before backing away out of the man’s reach,

“Seven days then, Newton.” He bid farewell before disappearing once more under the water’s surface before Newt could even wipe the dumbstruck look from his face.

He touched the point of contact on his cheek, _‘Well there goes all of my productivity for the next seven days’_ He thought before carefully extracting himself off the rock to return to normality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title comes from [Elskaði](https://youtu.be/DmXd6EDFri0) by Eivør


End file.
